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Charges Filed For Resort Bomb Threat

OCEAN CITY — The Ocean City Fire Marshal’s Office last week filed charges against a resort resident believed to have been deported to Mexico for allegedly manufacturing a destructive device and using it to threaten and terrorize other individuals on Facebook.

In January 2008, Ocean City police arrested an individual known as Ernesto Garcia-Bristo for driving in Maryland without a license. Garcia-Bristo was placed on probation and fined, but recent information obtained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported he had been deported to his native Mexico.

However, a confidential source informed ICE officials Garcia-Bristo had been living in Ocean City again in the 76th Street area but had recently moved to Colonial Rd. On Feb. 16, officials conducted surveillance and observed Garcia-Bristo leave the residence.

On the same day, the ICE special agent reviewed Garcia-Bristo’s Facebook page, which was listed under “Negro REKORDZ.” On the Facebook page, the ICE special agent observed several pictures of Garcia-Bristo and others. One picture posted depicted a Hispanic man believed to be Garcia-Bristo wearing a black ski mask that obscured part of his face and a white T-shirt with gray and black lettering and cross on the front.

In the individual’s hand were two oblong, metallic cylindrical objects held together with what appears to be black electrical tape and connected on the top with thin items consistent with fuses or wiring with several protrusions from the top of the device. On Feb. 22, the ICE special agent provided copies of the photograph of the suspect with the alleged improvised explosive device to an Ocean City Deputy Fire Marshal-Bomb Technician. The ICE agent also provided a transcript of the response comments under the picture on the suspect’s Facebook page, which were originally written in Spanish but had been translated by an ICE source.

For example, one of the responses reportedly said “You scare me,” and “You are crazy” and “Don’t do us any harm.” Another response, reportedly from Garcia-Bristo said “C’mon, don’t you remember, Fat Boy is the one we did on 76st, it was a gift for that [expletive deleted],” and “Thank God they understood, because otherwise BUUUUMMM to hell.”

Ocean City Fire Marshal’s officials determined the device was likely an improvised destructive device (IDD). Based on the photograph and the responses, Garcia-Bristo was charged with manufacturing and possessing a destructive device and possess and representing an destructive device with the intent to terrorize, frighten, intimidate, threaten of harass others.